After two full days of fishing the Bassmaster Classic Bracket last-chance tournament on Pokegama Lake, four anglers moved a step closer to earning a berth in the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods to be held on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell. During the morning session, California pro Ish Monroe won his head-to-head battle with Jonathon VanDam and earned a spot in the semifinals, while New Jersey veteran Michael Iaconelli kept his chances alive for a 17th straight Classic berth with a victory over second-year B.A.S.S. pro Adrian Avena.

As the 2017 Bassmaster Elite Series season progressed, Brandon Palaniuk always had a sense that he was in contention for the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year crown.But he never let himself look at the standings. He never even allowed himself to think about the race. Now, he may never stop thinking about it. The 29-year-old pro from Hayden, Idaho, caught 62 pounds, 3 ounces of bass to finish in 20th place at this week’s Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Champion

The Knoxville, Tenn., pro went wire-to-wire to win on his home lake — his second career Opens victory on the fishery — and received the top prize of a Triton 19 TrX/Mercury 200 Pro XS rig valued at $45,000, along with $5,291 in cash. He weighed in a 15-pound, 9-ounce limit to finish with 50-3. His previous victory on Douglas came in May 2014.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 2018 Bassmaster Opens Series will again include nine tournaments on prime bass fishing waters, but the series format will be markedly different from recent seasons, B.A.S.S. announced today.

“We are excited about the new Opens format,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin. “It’s designed to provide opportunities for the best bass fishermen to prove their fishing skills on a variety of waters as they earn their way into the Bassmaster Classic and Elite Series.”

Catching a drum isn’t usually much of a reason for a bass fisherman to get excited. They don’t count in a bass tournament, and they can waste valuable fishing time while the angler fights and lands them. But it certainly excited Jason Christie this week — mostly because every time he’d catch one, the smallmouth bass in the area would get excited, too.

Christie caught five smallmouth that weighed 22 pounds on Championship Sunday to push his four-day weight to 88 pounds, 8 ounces. It was enough to win the Advance Auto Parts Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair and keep the Oklahoma angler in contention for the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year titl

FLW, the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today that Kelly (Flinn) Oettinger has returned to the company as the Vice President of Marketing. Oettinger will be responsible for providing strategic direction and engagement for all of FLW’s marketing initiatives.

On a day when all eyes were on the most experienced anglers in the sport, a 26-year-old pro from Kentucky stole the show. Bradley Roy, who has never finished higher than third in a Bassmaster Elite Series event, caught five bass that weighed 23 pounds, 3 ounces, during Thursday’s first round. It was good enough to take the lead in the Advance Auto Parts Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair. Missouri angler Chad Morgenthaler is just 1 pound behind in second with 22-3, and Alabamian Matt Lee is third with 21-13.

Lake St. Clair is one of the premiere smallmouth bass fishing destinations in the world. But as with most lakes, timing is crucial. If the bass are in transition from the spawning areas to their summer haunts, they can be tough to pin down. If the weather is nasty, certain areas can be virtually inaccessible. A lot can change in a few weeks. But for the moment, it looks like the 108 anglers taking part in next week’s Advance Auto Parts Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair might be hitting the lake at just the right time.

FLW Tour rookie Justin Atkins of Florence, Alabama, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 22 pounds, 1 ounce – the second-heaviest limit ever weighed in the 22-year history of the Forrest Wood Cup – to earn the win at the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray. Over three days, Atkins weighed in 15 fish totaling 59 pounds, 4 ounces to edge out second-place pro Travis Fox of Rogers, Arkansas, by 2 pounds, 9 ounces and win the $300,000 top cash prize. The tournament featured 53 of the top bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for professional bass-fishing’s world championship.

FLW Tour pro Brandon Cobb of Greenwood, South Carolina, continued his momentum Saturday at the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray , the world championship of professional bass fishing, weighing in a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 4 ounces – his second straight day with a 19-plus pound limit. With a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 39 pounds even, Cobb will lead the final 10 pros who will fish Sunday for $300,000 cash – the top award in professional bass fishing.

Thirty years of fishing the James River paid off for Virginia pro Rick Morris, who won the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open No. 2 on Saturday. The Lake Gaston, Va., angler weighed in a 16-pound, 11-ounce five-bass limit and finished with a three-day total of 43-15 to clinch the pro division title.